


Across the Years

by Jubalii



Category: Hellsing
Genre: All War, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, POV Male Character, Post-War, Pre-Canon, Pre-Dawn, Pre-Series, Pre-War, Prequel, World War II
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-05
Updated: 2014-06-05
Packaged: 2018-10-25 15:17:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10766916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jubalii/pseuds/Jubalii
Summary: They've been through 2 World Wars, countless scuffles between countries, and times of nearly-overwhelming peace. They've dealt with life, death, marriage; thousands of emotions scattered throughout their years together. Time bound them to each other, from the earliest days of childhood to their later years of serving Crown and Country.They are the Round Table Conference.





	1. July, 1928

**Author's Note:** The amount of fanfics about the RTC is _not_ too damn high! This irritates me!

* * *

 **o-o-o-o** _ **July**_ _**1928**_ **o-o-o-o**

"Oi!" A boy called to a group of children heading down the hill towards London, waving his cap in the air. They turned around, watching with a newfound curiosity. Everyone knew that Hugh Irons, at the ripe age of 13, was the neighborhood "go-to" guy. He knew everything about the interesting events that happened at the fabulous houses that lined the street; houses that belonged to Government workers of all kinds, that were fabulously wealthy and had summer homes and the like, whose children were wealthy by association and therefore found it ideal to socialize among their fellow peers in the streets, away from poorling's children in a caste all their own.

"Shabby Shelby's going to fight Arthur Hellsing in the lot!" he yelled down the hillside, and all the children from toddling age to budding teenagers turned and began to run back up the way they'd come, eager to see this new spectacle. After all, London summers were fulfilling, but oftentimes boring. And it wasn't every day the handsomest, most dashing boy on the street was challenged to a fight by the neighborhood weakling.

As they made their way to the concrete lot between the last house on the block and the brick wall that served as a fence around the neighborhood park, they began to place bets. Most of the girls and quite a few boys immediately put their pocket money on Arthur, picking the easy win. For a nine-year-old Arthur was stout and strong, with lean arms, a lanky frame, and a fierce temper to match his quick fists.

His opponent was a pasty-faced, overweight child who'd rather stay in his front yard with a book than play sports with the other boys. Even worse, he never seemed bitter that he was the ostracized one; no matter how much they teased, he would only give them a sad frown and silently bury his nose in whatever he happened to be reading. Even when they ganged up and pushed him around, he wouldn't fight back, only cower and wait for the beating to be over. Eventually even _that_ grew boring, and they just left him alone.

But now, according to Hugh, he'd challenged Arthur Hellsing to a duel. While taking everyone's bets, he told them how Shabby Shelby had insulted Arthur's family name, and a fight had been declared between the two. The boys jeered, the girls gasped in self-contained horror; both parties were thrumming with excitement.

Finally the lot was in sight and the kids pushed their way through the already-heavy crowd of children. News apparently had spread fast; even some of the city children were here, with their dirty bare feet, making a circle around the concrete clearing. The wealthier children joined their friends on the brick wall, the elder siblings lifting up their younger kin to sit on the edge and let their feet dangle off. All of them talked excitedly, jabbering with each other and continuing to place bets with Irons.

Arthur and Shelby were already in the center of the circle, facing each other. Arthur had his arms crossed with a scowl, his perpetually-mussed hair hanging in his face and hiding his cerulean eyes. Shelby was wringing his hands, looking at the crowd growing with an expression of complete terror and anxiety, biting his lower lip. Finally Hugh, ever the ringleader, walked into the center of the circle between the two boys and raised his hands for silence.

When the noise abated, the thirteen-year-old looked over the children with a practiced eye, milking the tension before his voice rang out clearly in the echoing lot.

"Welcome to the lot, mates," he began. "Today we'll be seeing a fight to remember, when Shabby Shelby takes his own against Arthur Hellsing. There's still time to make a bet; let Walsh have your money, and he'll make sure I get it." There was a fierce scrambling as newcomers forked their change over to a gangly boy with solemn eyes. Hugh waited until all was quiet before turning to the boys.

"Men, as custom of the "ritual of the lot", you have a few moments to state your reasons for fighting, and declare your arrangements as to dueling terms, any discrepancies then being settled by Walsh and myself, being the two oldest." A girl stuck her hand up, not bothering to be called upon before speaking out.

"Speak for yourself, Hugh Irons! You know good and well that I'm two months younger than you; you just don't want a _girl_ telling you what to do!" Her two cents said amidst cheers and calls of affirmation from the females of the area, she nodded once, brown curls bouncing all over her head.

"Oh," Hugh retaliated, his jaw working in an effort to find words. "Just… just _sod off_ , Marjorie! Nobody asked your opinion in the first place!" The girl huffed and tossed her curls, smiling smugly when the girls around her let out boos at the injustice before their eyes. "Oh come off it- Walsh and I've been running this show for years; we don't need any _women_ mucking up our system _._ " He spun on his heel, pale eyes flashing with anger. "Come on then," he barked at the two boys, who jumped and glared at him simultaneously. "Out with your statements, now!"

"This git insulted my family!" Arthur said furiously, pointing at the now-trembling boy across the circle. "He called us a bunch of looneys!" Shelby Penwood looked around, but seeing no help he cleared his throat and made his rebuttal.

"Anyone who voluntarily chases after vampires and the like _is_ a looney," he replied shakily, but decisively. "My papa says so." Arthur puffed up and glanced sideways to a little boy standing amidst the poorlings, tears in his eyes.

"Don't worry Richard, we're not looney," he whispered gently before turning back to his opponent. "Your papa doesn't know anything, 'cause he's a shabby old git and you are too!"

"He ain't!" Shelby shouted, his foot stomping the ground and hands fisting at his sides.

"He is so!"

"Boys, boys!" Hugh stepped in, trying to regain his previous persona. "We can stand all day arguing about who is and who isn't, but we don't come to the lot to see that. We come to see a fight." Arthur stared stonily at the older boy before looking at his younger brother again.

"First blood," he grumbled, clearly going easy just for the child's sake.

"Agreed," Shelby said after a moment. "Erm, no weapons," he said, eyeing the boards stacked near their makeshift circle warily. Arthur looked as though he may argue, but bowed his head in a quick nod after contemplating the possible consequences.

"Agreed," he answered. "I'm well." Shelby looked one last time at Hugh as if the elder boy might save him, but only got an impatient frown in return. He licked his lips, swallowed, and sighed heavily.

"I'm well," he conceded, thus finishing the pre-fight ritual. Hugh jumped back, and the children made their circle tighter, but wider as the two boys began to circle each other. Little Richard was pulled back to relative safety by Marjorie, who was watching apprehensively, her loud mouth quiet for once.

Then, three things happened.

Arthur, who had a bad habit of keeping his trousers too long instead of rolling them up like the rest of the neighborhood boys, stepped forward to deliver the first punch and promptly tripped over his own pants leg. Shelby, who had threw up his fists in a desperate attempt to shield himself, also stepped forward with the intent on running by Arthur to throw the other boy off guard and slipped on a piece of litter that frequently blew in the lot, trapped in an eternal circle by the cross breeze blowing between the high walls.

The slip up of the two was missed by all the children except the two involved, and their expressions were both of shock as they collided with a resounding crack. The children cheered, happy to see a fight at last. The previous lot fight had happened so long ago, only kids as old as Hugh Irons and Marjorie Bakersfield were able to really remember with clarity all that had gone on.

But then little Marie Abernathy, who had been standing on the brick wall to get a better look at Rob Walsh— the boy she was convinced she'd marry someday— saw a movement up the street. She placed a hand on her forehead to block the sun and then gasped. She turned to the crowd and screamed a single sentence; it was more than enough to send the children into spasms of horror.

If she'd said "It's the Germans!" or "It's the French!" or even something as cruel as "It's Shabby Shelby's mummy, come back from the dead!" the children would have scrambled up the brick wall and out into the streets, looking for the source of her excitement. But when she shouted those three horrible, _awful_ syllables above the din of the lot, the entire community of children became as still as gazelles before a lioness's gaze.

"It's Helsing!"

"Helsing" was the colloquial term for Arthur's grandfather, and the mere mention of the name evoked nightmares in the younger children and shivers from the elder. He was mean, stern, loud, strong, and _German_ above all things, something the children just couldn't overlook, although they didn't hold it against Arthur in the slightest. The strict, God-fearing old codger was at constant odds with the children, who took great pride in their daring escapes from his lawn after one of their many pranks.

The poorlings scattered immediately, running back to their safe alleys and flats as fast as their bare feet could take them. The wealthier jumped off the brick wall, tots vaulting into their sibling's waiting arms as they all made mad dashes for their respective homes.

Hugh Irons paled and he took off with Walsh, stuffing the bet money down their sleeves. If they were caught teaching the other children about gambling, the old man would tell their mothers, and they would be in for a fierce punishment when they got home. Marjorie grabbed Richard Hellsing and ran, dropping him off safely on the Hellsing lawn before tearing off her clunky shoes and sprinting for her own house.

Arthur and Shelby were still fumbling on the ground, trying to help each other up before the old man made it to the lot. Their dispute forgotten, they were now fighting for the common goal of making themselves scarce. Grandfather or not Arthur had just as much at stake, for he'd been brawling and that was a forbidden thing in the Hellsing household. They'd barely made it two steps before strong hands gripped their collars and lifted them off the ground. They were temporarily choked before being sat on their feet before a tall pair of riding boots.

"Well, well," the soft accent lilted over them, anger turning it into a steel weapon. Shelby and Arthur looked at each other, wincing. It was clear that Shelby'd won; even if he hadn't meant too, his fist had smashed into Arthur's eye and left a long, shallow cut that was bleeding, along with the beginnings of a beautiful shiner. "What have we here?"

"Grandfather," Arthur mumbled, casting his eyes to the ground. He knew what was coming. There was no stopping the storm now. He and Shelby both were sent home with sore bottoms, only to get round two from their fathers. They'd been unable to sit for a week, and had been confined to the house for nearly as long, missing a full six days of summer sun and children's gossip.

As it turned out, word had spread like wildfire that Shabby Shelby had given Arthur Hellsing a black eye, and the rumors abounded. Shelby had stood up to old Helsing; he'd been taken to his house kicking and screaming, he'd threatened the entire family and had to be locked in his room, etcetera etcetera. By the time the two boys found themselves free again, Arthur's eye looked better and "Shabby Shelby" was now more of a nickname than an insult, as he'd gained a small set of fans for his supposed performance (although he fiercely denied all of the wonderful claims, insisting that he'd not dared even breathe in Helsing's direction the entire trip home).

Arthur never fessed about tripping; Shelby never fessed about slipping. Both only had to look into the other's eyes to know that they _knew_. It was a secret shared between them, and both were too prideful to say it aloud to the others. And so, in keeping that special confidence, the wild boy with the too-long pants and the shy coward with a love of books became the best of friends in the strangely endearing way that children do.


	2. March 1932

**o-o-o-o** _**March 1932** _ **o-o-o-o**

Shelby Penwood had fallen asleep with his nose in Gulliver's Travels. It was a common occurrence, especially on a rainy spring day such as this. It was too cold to go outside; the gray skies and slushy streets weren't all that inviting anyway. Inside his father's great library, a fire was roaring in the grate and the bay window was comfortable. He'd been curled up on the satin embroidered pillows, snoring for the past thirty minutes, when a knock at the window startled him out of his slumber and off the window's narrow ledge.

He poked his head over the ledge, looking at the lumpy mass on the other side of the window. A moment later, the mass moved and Arthur Hellsing's head appeared, his eyes melancholy and harried. He tapped on the glass again and motioned for Shelby to open up. The thirteen-year-old put his book to the side and kneeled on the window's ledge, reaching up to unlatch the lock and push the windows open. A moment later, a wet boy in an oversized, ragged raincoat jumped through and landed on the carpet, splattering water everywhere.

"Be careful!" Shelby pleaded in a whisper, pulling his beloved book out of harm's way and wiping the droplets off with the edge of his sleeve. "You're in a library, Arthur!" He closed the window and latched it back, making sure the satin pillows hadn't been splattered too badly with raindrops. After seeing that all was well, he turned back to his best friend with a knitted brow. "What are you doing out? The day's dreadful."

"I can't be at home right now," Arthur said quietly, pulling off his raincoat and laying it out on the tiled floor before the fireplace. "I—I just can't." His shoulders slumped, his eyes were downcast; the dashing, daring young man seemed uncharacteristically overwhelmed. Shelby wondered if he had gotten into deep trouble of some sort.

"What's the matter?" he asked, watching Arthur ring the water out of his hair and pants legs. Arthur didn't answer straightaway, instead focusing on taking off his muddy shoes and placing them out of the way, but hidden. He then shook his drying raincoat a final time and hid it in the same place, where you wouldn't notice them unless you knew where to look. Finally he smeared the water along the tiles with his hands, ensuring a quicker drying time for the fireplace front. Shelby watched silently, holding his book loosely in his hands.

"Let's go to your room, okay?" Arthur said, turning to face him. Without waiting for an answer, he took off out of the room and down the hall, his sock feet padding quietly out of existence. Shelby sighed, shaking his head. Even in _his_ house, Arthur acted like he owned the place and made all the rules.

He tarried a moment, wiping the edges of wet tile with his gloves and sticking them in his pocket before placing the book back on the shelf. He wasn't in a hurry; Arthur had been to his house many times before. He knew how to get to Shelby's bedroom.

He walked down the hallways, which were as empty as always. Ever since his mother's death, his father had dropped the number of servants down to the bare minimum. Shelby knew that his father hadn't meant to make the house seem so… lonely. But it was.

Arthur was already lying on his bed when he made it to the bedroom. Shelby looked around and closed the door, going to sit in his desk chair. He pulled it around and cleared the stacks of books and papers off of the chair, which had been used as a makeshift desk-extension for as long as he'd had it. He carefully placed the stacks on top of the mess that was the desk's surface and waited to see if it would fall before taking a seat in the rigid, high-backed chair.

"So… why are you here?" Shelby asked. "Not that I don't mind seeing you, but if you'd wanted to talk you should have phoned me instead of bursting through my library window." Arthur glared at him and flipped over to lie face down on the bed, eagle-spread as though it was his own and not a friend's.

"I told you," he said, turning his face slightly so the mattress wouldn't muffle his voice. "I couldn't stay at home." Shelby bit back a sharp-tongued retort, not wanting to have a row. After all, it was clear that whatever the reason Arthur had come around, it had upset him. And good friends try to console upset friends, not pick fights with them.

"Why not?" he replied bluntly, wishing Arthur would get to the root of the problem. It was quiet for many minutes as he waited for his answer. Finally Arthur sighed, and it seemed that the entire universes' worth of desolation resided in that one wretched noise.

"Grandfather is dying." Shelby jumped in his chair, his eyes widening. So that was it. Arthur had been spending more and more time at home lately, and he'd heard rumors from the others that old Helsing hadn't been doing so well. In his mind, the foreign terror that stalked the streets of his childhood was immortal, unable to be felled by disease or old age. Yet, he was dying. "I just don't want to be there when it happens. I can't stand watching him breathe the one moment and then… not breathe again, ever."

"I—" Shelby started, scratching behind his ear as he thought of something to say. "I'm very sorry, Arthur," he finally blurted. It was a strange thing; humans dealt with death every day of their lives, but no one had ever found the perfect sentence to comfort the still-living with yet. "Anything I can do to help…." He trailed off.

"Please." Arthur looked away, his voice on the verge of breaking. "Hide me here. I don't want to go home. They'll come to get me and I don't want—I can't—" He stopped, his shoulders shaking. Shelby waited in his chair, unsure of what to do. On one hand, he wanted to go over and lay a hand on his friend's shoulder, to be a comfort while he cried over the eventual death of a loved one. But Arthur was a proud boy, prouder than most; Shelby knew that if he showed any sort of pity towards him, his friend might lash out in grief and anger.

"If they call my father…" Shelby said uncertainly, weighing his options. He wanted to be there for Arthur. But if his father asked him "Is Arthur Hellsing here?" he would be unable to lie. His father always saw through his lies, and even a small lie would mean a sound spanking. Nobility didn't deceive others unless it was absolutely necessary. But was this considered a necessary case; did the needs of a comrade—a brother—overrule the need to obey his elders?

"Penwood." Shelby frowned. He didn't like being called his last name too often—it sounded old and frumpy, like he was already an adult. But Arthur refused to call him Shelby, for some odd reason. Shelby thought that it had to do with the nine years of being ridiculed as "Shabby Shelby" by Arthur, as well as all the other kids. Many of them still used the name from time to time, but it was more of an affectionate nickname now, instead of the cruel taunt it used to be.

"I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't need it." He looked at him, watery blue eyes full of trust. "Please, Penwood. I'll never ask you for anything big again. Just do this one thing for me." Shelby forced back a groan. It wasn't the first time he'd heard those words, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last.

"I'll do my best," he finally said, not promising in either direction for fear of accidentally breaking it. "But if my father comes in, I can't be lying to him." Arthur gave him a tiny smile, wiping his eyes as discreetly as he could."

"Thanks; you're the best." Shelby colored and looked down at his hands, getting up to lock the door and ensure privacy before going to sit on the bed next to Arthur. They sat talking for the longest time, thunder rumbling lowly outside and rain splattering lightly against the windows and punctuating the conversation.

* * *

Knocking woke Shelby from his slumber, and he got a rousing feeling of déjà vu as he nearly fell. He grabbed hold of the bed sheets and managed to stay upright, looking around his room. Arthur— a heavier sleeper— lay dead to the world, snoring quietly. Shelby poked him in the ribs and he woke with a grunt, staring up at the ceiling before popping up like a cork in water. They both looked at the clock on the wall, which told them it was very late in the evening.

"7:19?!" Arthur whisper-shouted, adding a few choice swear words under his breath. Shelby stopped him with a hand on his arm and a shake of his head. Arthur eyed him questioningly when the knocking began again: someone was at the bedroom door.

"W-who is it?" Shelby called out, motioning for Arthur to stay quiet. He expected it was a servant calling for supper, or his father wanting one thing or another. But the voice at the door was not his father, or any of the servants. It was quiet, weakened, sorrowful, and familiar. Shelby and Arthur sat side-by-side, frozen.

"Arthur." The boy on the bed didn't respond, but he jolted furiously and Shelby felt a shiver work down his spine. "Arthur, please come home." Shelby gulped and his hand tightened on Arthur's forearm as his friend began to shake slightly. They both knew what this meant, but neither of them wanted to hear it voiced. "It's over now, Arthur. They've taken him to the morgue."

"I have to let him in," Shelby finally whispered, looking panicked. He looked over to see Arthur staring at the bedspread, his body giving the tiniest of heaves although no tears leaked out of his eyes. He didn't answer, and Shelby crawled off the bed, walking over and silently unlocking the door.

"Mr. Hellsing," he said softly, standing aside to allow the tall gentleman into his room. "I'm—I'm very sorry. Arthur told me what was going on, and I said he could stay here. If anyone's to blame, it's me." The leader of the Hellsing Organization looked down at him, his eyes the same shade as his son's.

"There's no blame, son," he said gently, his voice sounding tired and lost. He sounded more like he was Arthur's age than he was a grown man. "I understand… thank you, for being so kind to him." Shelby backed into the hall and watched solemnly as the man approached the shivering boy on the bed and placed a hand on his head.

A warm arm worked its way around his shoulders and Shelby looked up to see his father had joined him in the hallway. The man looked tired as well, and for the first time Shelby noticed the gray hairs at his temples and the fine lines under his glasses; he realized that his father wasn't exactly young anymore, but he wasn't old either. The thought that his father would one day be a grandfather, and leave the world, made him feel like a cold hand was gripping his heart. He hated to think of it.

"Your friend has suffered a deep loss," his father said quietly, turning away from the scene in the bedroom. "The funeral is tomorrow; I assume you have no qualms about going, do you?"

"No, Father. I'd like to go." His father nodded and shook his shoulder lightly, as much of a display of affection that Shelby would ever hope to see from the man. His father wasn't cold… but he sure seemed to act like it at times. But then again, perhaps it was because he spent all his time in his office, and Shelby never really spoke to him except through the closed office door.

"Good boy," he murmured, and despite all that had happened that evening, Shelby couldn't help but smile at the compliment.

* * *

Funeral goers of all ranks, from top Government officials to lowly officers, showed up to give old van Helsing a proper farewell. Shelby stood by Arthur throughout the viewing, offering silent support to his stone-faced friend, who he knew was heartbroken inside.

Strict as he was, there was no doubt in Shelby's mind that Helsing was loved dearly by his grandson. Arthur always talked about him and the stories that his grandfather used to tell, and how Helsing was the one who taught him how to shoot, and hunt, and play the piano. If anyone missed that old man, it would be the solemn just-turned-teenager at his side.

To everyone's surprise, there was another rank of people at the funeral as well. No one had thought about bringing their children to a funeral, but in a darkly-dressed procession that made its way through the cemetery gates, a long line of youngsters came marching in. At the forefront was the 17-year-old Hugh Irons, flanked as always by Rob Walsh. Silently and seriously, the children made a long half-circle around the outer wall of the cathedral where the funeral was to be held, the older ones leading the younger by the hand.

Shelby looked around in surprise at the sheer amount of his peers that had shown up. Marie, Marjorie, Hugh, Rob… everyone was there. He had been sure that many of these children were the same ones that caused Helsing such anger in his lifetime, playing silly pranks and dashing off with the old man roaring curses in German at them.

The adults watched on with a sense of surprise and intrigue, and a few parents called their children out of the line to find out what was going on. Shelby and Arthur looked at each other for a split second before walking towards Marjorie, who was still the eldest girl of them all, even after other children came and went.

"What's going on?" Arthur said, more fiercely than he probably meant to. Marjorie looked down at him, her flyaway curls pinned neatly on her head for once. She looked around at the line of children and then back at the boy, who was clearly on guard. Shelby understood; Arthur didn't want his grandfather's funeral to be the source of a horrid prank, or to be the laughingstock of the children for the next few years.

"We never hated him, your granddad," Marjorie explained haughtily, also seeming to understand the younger boy's distress. "We just liked making him mad. We'll miss him," she added, as if it were obvious. "We wanted to pay our respects, so we all went and bought flowers to put on the grave." She reached into her clutch, a black one that matched her velour dress, and pulled out a single white rose with a tiny piece of paper wrapped around the stem.

"What's that?" Shelby asked, pointing to the paper. Marjorie looked down and shrugged.

"We all wanted to say something we were thankful for, so we wrote in on a piece of paper. Mine says "I'm thankful that you didn't tell my mum when I accidentally ran my bicycle over your perennials." He was actually very understanding, and I helped him fix it." She grinned at the memory. Arthur swallowed, the action seeming difficult for him.

"That's nice of you," he finally said at last, his voice strangled with unshed tears. He turned away quickly and walked as fast as he could back to his father's side. Before Shelby could ask anything else, the signal came to move into the cathedral. The funeral was starting.

"It was a packed house, wasn't it?" Arthur said hollowly as they stared at the mound of dirt where the casket had been lowered. Shelby nodded silently, looking over his shoulder as the black wave of children approached. They were all holding white flowers, although there were roses, carnations, lilies; every flower in England seemed to be amassed in one way or another.

Arthur stepped back and Hugh Irons stepped forward, addressing him for the first time that day.

"Arthur Hellsing, we wanted to put these on your grandfather's grave," he said somewhat awkwardly, holding out his peony. Arthur nodded and he stepped forward to lay the flower on the center of the rain-reddened dirt. "I'm grateful," he said quietly, but still so everyone could hear him, "that you warned us before we tried to jump down that well when I was eight. We could have died, but you grabbed us before we fell down in there."

Marjorie stepped forward next, laying her rose next to his peony and repeating her paper's words to the group. Marie Abernathy was next, her ponytails bouncing as she flounced from the back and laid her iris near the bottom of the mound.

"I'm happy that you chose to live in England, instead of going back to wherever you lived before," she chirped with a small curtsy before retreating. Rob Walsh spoke also of when they nearly fell down the well incident, pointing out that without Helsing's help, he would never have asked for swimming lessons afterward.

One by one, each child walked up, laid their flower, and told what they'd written on the paper. Shelby felt tears in his own eyes, and wondered how Arthur could stay so quiet and grave when many of the children were crying, tears running down their cheeks as though their own grandfather lay in the ground, and not the so-called bane of their young existence.

When they were finished the mound was covered in white, with not a piece of dirt to be seen beneath. The children watched for a moment, lost in their own thoughts while the criers dried their tears, and then as one, Shelby and Arthur joining the group, they made their way out of the cemetery and to their homes as the springtime rain started to fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Afterword:
> 
> A lot of people say that Van Helsing was Dutch, and the book has him as Dutch, but many movies portray him as German because he speaks German in the novel and there's no real reason for it. So I have him in this fic as German too.
> 
> Considering the UK fought Germany in WWI, the children would automatically torment a German guy on their street. But I think it was more of a Dennis the Menace sort of thing—they're pests, he's mean, but in the end he looked out for them and they'd be sad that he was gone. After all, they grew up in close contact with the guy in one way or the other. You don't just forget all that.


End file.
